SAN FRANCISCO – A new law that goes into effect next summer has San Francisco restaurants worried.
Restaurants want more details about the so-called “junk fees” law to see if it will force them to change the way they charge customers.
Governor Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 478 into law earlier this month, which aims to make pricing more transparent.
Now the Golden Gate Restaurant Association is among those looking to California Attorney General Rob Bonta to see how the new law will affect the restaurant industry and how customers are charged.
“There are really high costs of doing business in San Francisco, and some people choose to offset those with service charges, which are legal in California, and we need to see how this changes that at all,” said Laurie Thomas of the Golden Gate Restaurant Association. “We need clarity from the attorney general’s office and the bill’s sponsors.”
Take this bill for an upcoming engagement party, for example, you can see the health mandate fee and service charge. This is one of the areas that still needs clarification, as well as cases where there is a large party and a built-in tip that customers may not have known about.
One of the bill’s sponsors, Senator Nancy Skinner’s office, says ‘as long as restaurants prominently display what they’re charging, it should be OK. The senator’s office is monitoring any developments from the Attorney General’s office [Rob Bonta] and will adjust accordingly before any legislation goes into effect.”
The restaurant industry says it’s looking for clarity sooner rather than later so it can plan for next year.
“We’re going into budgeting. We’re trying to decide what we’re going to do next year. Can we keep the restaurants open, can we expand, do we have to cut back? That’s why I’m asking for clarity now,” Thomas said.
Attorney General Bonta’s office has not yet responded to KTVU’s request for comment.
In previous statements to other news outlets, the attorney general’s office said it would work with industry groups in the coming months to work out details of how to implement the law, which takes effect on 1 July 2024.